Air-ship.



PATENTED APR. 23, '1907.

'r. s. BALDWIN.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

AIR SHIP. APPLIOATION rum) NOV. 21, 1904. RENEWED MAR. 23, 1907.

ATTORNEYS 1-": Mann; WASHINGTON, c4

PATENTED APR. 23, 1907.

T. S. BALDWIN. AIR SHIP.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 21, 1904. RENEWED HA3. 23, 1907.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

ATFOR/VEYS THE "emu: PETIIS m, \uuunmu. o. c.

rrnrrnn STATES PATENT OFFICE THOMAS S. BALDWIN, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

AIR-SHIP.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented April 23, 1907.

Application filed November 21 1904. Renewed March 23, 1907. Serial No. 364,064-

To all, whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS S. BALDWIN, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of San Francisco, in the county of San Francisco and State of California, have invented a new and Improved Air-Ship, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact descri tion.

The invention relates to an air s 'p of that class which comprises a cab or frame provided with a motor and propelling and steer ing devices and connected with a gas bag, the gas sustaining the structure and the motor propelling the same.

My present invention resides especially in the construction of the netting or enclosure for the gas bag, and in the form of the frame and the manner in which it is connected to or suspended from said netting.

It has been found that the gas bags heretofore employed in air ships lack stiffness in 4 the air, and tend to sag in the middle, the gas going toward both ends, thus changing the orm of the bag and rendering the air ship uncontrollable. To obviate this it has been proposed to use a second internal bag or" baloonette. This requires a continuously operating air pump to keep up the pressure in the internal bag. By means of my invention I prevent this collapse of the gas bag without employing the internal bag and its accompanying pump, and I do this by enclosing the bag in a netting. having a squate or other form of mesh, which enables the lines of the net-ting bearing the weight 01 the frame to extend truly vertically and to be of equal length. This-*places an equal strain on the gas bag practically throughout the length thereof and it retains the bag in its correct form. At its extremities the bag is-enclosed in netting caps, which may be of the usual diamond or diagonal mesh, and which are connected t: the main portion of the netting.

The frame constructed triangular cross sectional form, and is suspended from the netting by means of hanger lines reaching down to the bottom of the frame. The frame is prevented from undue rolling and is held in the correct position, by means of guy lines I which pass from the sides of the netting to the upper part of the frame.

Reference is had to the accompanying drawings forming part of this specification, in which drawings like characters of reference indicate like parts in the several views, and in which Figure 1 is a side elevation of the air ship;

On this frame is arranged arudder or steering device a and a propeller d.

6 indicates the propeller shaft, and f indicates a motor which may be of any suitable ..j

sort.

9 indicates the gas, bag which is elongated as shown, provided with tapered ends. The

gas bag is enclosed throughout its length excepting at the tapered ends in a'netting h,

which has the supporting lines extended parallel to each other and vertically over the gas bag and down each side thereof. These supporting lines are all of the same length, as the drawing shows. This arrangement of the sup. porting lines of the etting is brought about by making the netting of square mesh, as the drawing shows. At its ends the nettin is provided with netting caps 71, which enc ose the ends of the gas bag in the manner shown.

From each side of the m'ain part it of the net ting hanger lines lc depend, these lines being joined respectively '0 the bottom stringers a of the frame, and from each side of the netting 72, guy lines Z extend, these lines being joined to the top stringer a of the frame. It

will be seen, therefore, that the bag is enclosed in a netting which exerts an equal restraining pressure on the bag throughout the length thereof, excepting the tapered ends,

and these tapered ends are enclosed in netting caps which insure holding them in the correct position. This prevents the collapse of the gas bag and enables the air ship at all times to be controlled. Further, the

peculiar manner of supporting the frame allows a certain swaying thereof, but within well defined limits, and it equally distributes the ieight of the frame throughout the nettin i arious changes in the form, proportions and minor details of my invention may be resorted to at will without departin from the spirit and scope thereof; hence consider myself entitled to all such variations as may 'lie within the terms of my claims.

Having thus described thepreferred form of my invention, what I'claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. An airship comprising a gas bag, having tapering ends, a netting enclosing the bodyof the bag and having parallel supporting lines of equal length extending vertically over'the gas bag, and down each side below the bottom of the bag, nettingcaps secured to the main netting and enclosing the ends of the bag, a triangularcar having two angles at the bottom and one at the top, hanger lines extending from the lower depending edges of the main netting and connected with the bottom angles of the car, and guy lines also extending from the lower edges of the main netting and connected with the top angle of the car.

2. An air ship, comprising a gas bag, a netting enclosing the bag, the portion of the netting enclosing the body of the bag extending down the sides below the bottomeof the 2 I g I 851,481

- two subscribing witnesses.

bag, a triangular car, hanger lines extending from the lower depending edges of the netting and connected with the bottom angles of the car, and guy lines also extending fromthe lower edges of the netting and connected. with the top angle of the car.

3. An air ship comprising a gas bag, a frame or car of triangular cross sectional form having two angles at the bottom and one angle at the top in the longitudinal center of the frame, a netting enclosing the gas bag, hanger lines extending from the netting to the bottom angles of the frame, and guy lines extending from the netting to the top angle of the frame.

1n testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of THOMAS S. BALDWIN. W'itnesses i IsAAo B. OWENS, JNo. M. B TTER. 

